But this new assertion, enforced by Darwin's followers in an arbitrary
and inaccurate spirit, maintained the first assertion of Comte, and
therefore it became the Revelation for our time, and the foundation of
all sciences, even that of the history of philosophy and religion; and
besides, according to the _naïve_ confession of Darwin himself, the idea
was awakened in him by the law of Malthus; and therefore he pointed to
the "Struggle for Existence" not only of men but of all living beings,
as a fundamental law of every living thing, and this was exactly what
was wanted by the crowd of idle people for their own justification.
Two unstable theories which could not stand on their own feet supported
each other, and so received a show of stability. Both the theories bore
in them a sense, precious to the crowd, that men are not to be blamed
for the existing evil in human societies, that the existing order is
what should be; and thus the new theory was accepted by the crowd in the
sense wanted by them, with full confidence and unprecedented enthusiasm.
Thus the new scientific doctrine was founded upon two arbitrary and
incorrect propositions, accepted in the same way that dogmas of faith
are accepted. Both in matter and form this new doctrine is remarkably
like the Church-Christian one. In matter, the similarity lies in the
fact that in both doctrines alike a fantastical meaning is attached to
really existing things, and this artificial meaning is taken as the
object of our research.
In the Church-Christian doctrine, to Christ who did really exist, is
attributed the fantastic conception of being God Himself, screened. In
the Positive doctrine, to the really existing fact of live men is
attributed the fantastical attributes of an organism.
In form, the similarity of these two doctrines is remarkable, since, in
both cases, a theory emanating from one class of men is accepted as the
only and infallible truth. In the Church-Christian doctrine, the
Church's way of understanding God's revelation to men is regarded as the
sacred and only true one. In the doctrine of Positivism, certain men's
way of understanding science is regarded as absolutely correct and true.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account